The Mercury Theatre was a repertory company formed in 1937 by John Houseman and Orson Welles, who was only 21-years-old at the time. The success of the group's first production, Julius Caesar, helped the company secure the use of the Comedy Theater which was located on this corner from 1909 to 1942. The theater was renamed the Mercury Theatre in 1937 and became the Artef Theatre shortly after Orson Welles moved to California in 1939. The group performed at the theater until 1940, however, it was a radio program called The Mercury Theatre on the Air that led Orson Welles' rise and his most famous performant, the farcical "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast.
The Nederlander Theatre has been known as the National Theatre (1921-1959), the Billy Rose Theatre (1959-1979), and the Trafalgar (1979) before acquiring its present name in 1980. Before refurbishing the theater in the 1990s, the Nederlander Organization left the run-down look while it staged a 12-year run of the rock opera Rent. In 2008, the original Renaissance-style wood and gold interior was restored, and the theater now seats 1,200 for Broadway musicals and dramas.
The New Amsterdam Theatre is one of several Broadway theaters in Manhattan’s Theater District. Opened in 1903, the New Amsterdam saw major popularity, but it did suffer financial troubles and closed several times following the Great Depression. The New Amsterdam is currently leased by The Walt Disney Company and is the premier location for watching Disney-based Broadway shows. Popular performances at the New Amsterdam Theatre include Lion King, Aladdin, and Mary Poppins.
American Airlines Theatre, considered the "flagship" of the Roundabout Theatre Company, opened in 2000, after an extensive renovation and restoration of the original features of the Selwyn Theatre. The Renaissance-style Selwyn was built in 1918 and designed by George Keister. The Roundabout Theatre Company is a non-profit, subscription-based company. Popular performance debuts at the theatre include The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000) and The Women (2001).
The New Victory Theater is a Broadway venue for children and families, offering theater, dance, circus, opera, and world music. The New Victory has won the National Arts and Humanities Program Award and Drama Desk Award for its performances and community outreach through school partnerships and summer workshops. Hands-on arts and crafts, acting, and dance activities are offered before and after shows. The New Victory opened in 2005. The building was formerly the Theatre Republic, which was opened by Oscar Hammerstein in 1900.
Originally opened as the Henry Miller Theater in 1918, the Stephen Sondheim Theatre was rebuilt within the original facade in 2010. The Allen, Ingalls, and Hoffman designed facade was declared a New York City Landmark in 1987, and the new interior by Cook+Fox Architects is the first Broadway theater design to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold status.
Early suffragists established The Town Hall as the headquarters of the League for Political Education and built this as a space for women and progressive men to meet and discuss topics related to education and various contemporary issues during the 1920s. Today, the building is a National Historical Landmark-a designation stemming from its historical significance as this venue provided a forum for influential American figures from Margaret Sanger to Langston Hughes to reach a public audience. The venue also hosted national radio broadcasts of a program called America's Town Meeting of the Air starting in 1935. Additionally, the Town Hall hosted many important meetings related to the rights of women, as well as the Black Freedom Movement. It has also hosted various classical, jazz, and folk musicians over the years.
The Belasco Theater has stood in the heart of Broadway for over one- hundred years. When it opened in October of 1907, it was one of the most technologically advanced theaters on Broadway for its time. Its owner, David Belasco, changed the playhouse's name to the Belasco Theater in 1910 after himself. He lived in a duplex built above the theatre until his death in 1930. The Belasco came under the ownership of the Shubert Organization in 1948 and continues to be run by the organization today.
The Hudson Theatre is one of the oldest surviving theaters in the city. It opened in 1903, and immediately became one of the city’s premier theatrical venues. Over the years, the theater has gone through a number of incarnations, functioning as a live theater venue, a television studio, a night club, and an event space. The theater reopened as a Broadway theater in 2017. It is a New York City Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Lyceum Theatre, built in 1903, is the oldest continually operating theater on Broadway, one of the two oldest theaters on Broadway (the other is the New Amsterdam), and the first Broadway theater to achieve landmark status (1974). The Theatre is famous for productions such as "The Country Girl" (1950), "Hatful of Rain" (1955), and "I Am My Own Wife" (2003). The architects, Herts & Tallant, were known for their work on theatres, and the Lyceum Theatre was one of their best works. The Theatre includes a grey limestone facade, Corinthian columnns, two grand staircases, and marble finish.
This landmark New York restaurant was opened in 1927 by the Italian-born Vincent Sardi and his wife Jenny. To attract customers and to make his restaurant stand-out among other New York restaurants, Sardi decided to decorate the walls with caricatures of movie and Broadway stars. He first hired Russian artist Alex Gard to draw the stars, and Gard continued to draw hundreds of caricatures until his death. The next long-term artist to take over the role was Don Bevan. Over the decades, Sardi's rose in popularity, even inspiring the opening of a Hollywood Sardi's. Only the West 44th St. Sardi's has stood the test of time, however. When locals and tourists step off of Broadway into Sardi's, it is trip back in time, reflected by the original wall color and the red coats worn by waiters. Sardi's remains the restaurant to frequent before or after catching a show in the historic Theatre District of New York.
Originally opened as Little Theatre on March 12, 1912, the venue was used as a lecture hall and as a radio and television broadcasting center during the 1940s-1960s. It was purchased in the 1970s by Marty Markinson and Donald Tick and reopened as a theater. It was named the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1983, in honor of the First Lady of the American Theatre. The Helen Hayes is the only independently owned Broadway theater, and the smallest Broadway theater at only 599 seats.
The St. James Theatre opened in 1927 as the Erlanger Theatre. Abraham L. Erlanger, formerly a Theatrical Syndicate owner, built it as his own venue after the Shubert Brothers helped break the syndicate monopoly on Broadway. The Erlanger Theatre was designed by Warren and Wetmore, the same architects who designed New York's Grand Central Station. The exterior was simple, but the Erlanger was one of the largest on Broadway when it opened, and the interior was ornately detailed in Beaux-Arts style, with French ornamentation, murals, plasterwork, and two balconies. In 1930, Erlanger died, and the Astor family purchased the venue, renaming it the St. James. Eleven years later, the Shubert Organization purchased the St. James, then sold it in 1957 to William L. McKnight. Jujamcyn Theaters acquired the St. James through McKnight's daughter, and the theater was renovated and reopened in December of 1958. Some of the most well-known productions of the St. James Theatre over the years include the musicals Oklahoma!, The King and I, Hello Dolly!, and The Producers.
The Booth Theatre was built in 1913 by Lee Shubert and Winthrop Ames and named for Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth (1833-1893), the brother of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. It was the second theater in New York by the same name - the first being built by Edwin Booth himself in 1869 at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue. The 1913 Booth Theatre, like the Ames-owned Little Theatre, was part of the movement toward small, intimate venues, and opened with only 600 seats. Architect Henry B. Herts designed the building, with an English Tudor style interior and a sgraffito-decorated exterior.
Originally opened as the Royale Theatre on January 11, 1927, the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp. The interior was designed by Roman Melzer, Czar Nicholas II of Russia's architect. The real estate magnate Chanin Brothers opened a three-theatre complex including the Royale, the Majestic, and the Theatre Masque (now the John Golden). The Royale was designed in what the Canins and Krapp dubbed "Spanish modern" style, with two murals by Hungarian artist Willy Pogany in the mezzanine entitled "Spanish lovers". In 1930, the Chanin brothers transferred the management of the Royale to the Shuberts. Operettas, musicals, and dramas, including Diamond Lil, written by and starring Mae West, were shown in the early years of the Royale. John Golden leased and renamed it the John Golden Theatre in 1934. The Shuberts reverted to the original name in 1936, and subsequently leased the venue to CBS Radio until 1940. The theater was renamed for longtime Shubert Organization president Bernard B. Jacobs in 2005.
Opening in 1925 as Chanin's 46th Street Theatre, this historic Broadway theater has been home to more winners of the Tony Award for best play or musical than any other theater on Broadway. The theater was named in honor of composer Richard Rodgers in 1990. The Richard Rodgers Theatre has hosted Tony Award-winning productions, such as Guys and Dolls, and is best-known in modern America as the home of Hamilton.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walking tour includes a baker's dozen of the leading Broadway theaters in New York City in less than one mile. The tour ends at the Richard Rogers Theatre, home of the Tony Award-winning Hamilton. As always, users can alter their itinerary to include additional theaters and other historic sites.
